Man at Midnight
by WikketKrikket
Summary: Short RyouAnzu fluff. Ryou attempts to explain what it means to English, and it leads to more then he could have imagined... Author name changed from Waffles4eva


A/N: This… Isn't SHS. _(Sweatdrop) _Sorry, I'm having problems with chapter XIII and it's been a hard term so far. I'm hoping to get back on track soon, but in the meantime, please enjoy- and all those (pretty much all of you) of you who don't read SHS- this fic; my first _real _attempt at Ryou/Anzu and is really short, even for a one-shot. Also, it's ALL talk. Ah well. I quite like it. Plus, I get to parade my nationality. _(Waves UJ)_

Disclaimer: I do not own England. :P

Man at Midnight

From the floor below came the shrill tone of the doorbell. Anzu looked towards the entrance of her bedroom, but then simply huddled up closer to the pillow she was clinging, and pulled her legs up near her, bringing them into the warmth of her dressing gown. She shivered slightly, and, grabbing a tissue, snuffled into it; but suddenly, she felt a lot better. She knew that, downstairs, the visitor would be Yugi, and any moment now, he'd come walking cheerfully into the room and make her laugh until she felt all but recovered.

It would be Yugi, of course. Every time she was off school sick, he'd come knocking, armed with her homework and plenty of well-wishes, and he wouldn't leave until he was assured that she would be better soon. She briefly considered washing her face or running a brush through her hair, but then dismissed it. They'd been friends since they were tiny. Yugi had seen her at her very peak and her very pit, so it wasn't worth the effort it would take to peel herself off the bed. Instead, she turned the volume down on her television so they could talk, but did not turn it off completely. It was supposedly an American cop show comedy, and they'd been showing a marathon all day. Feeling too awful to do much else, she'd been watching all day, and now, she was hooked. The plots were simple, the jokes just bad enough to be funny, and they had a character of every quirky nationality under the sun. This episode, the hot American cop and the bewildered British Police man were chasing after another depressingly hot Italian woman thief on a motorcycle. Anzu was sure the woman would have to wear reinforced girders around her chest instead of a sports bra, and even Mai would have told her to cover up. Who could commit crime dressed like _that_?

"_I say, slow down! You'll kill us!"_

_"You gotta live before you die, Limey! Walk the line! C'mon, it's fun!"_

_"You Texas Cowboy! You're breaking the speed limit!"_

_"I'll break any limit I want. Woah!"_

_He swerved, narrowly avoiding a conveniently placed brick wall that they hadn't noticed up till now._

_"Heh… That was a close one. Chief woulda killed me if I'd crashed into another wall…"_

_"We're doomed!"_

And canned laughter.

_In retrospect, _Anzu thought, dully _This is _really _bad television_. She reached for the remote control, but before she changed channel, there came a knock at the door. She smiled softly to herself.

"Come in!"

"Hey there, Anzu." A voice said, warmly; and Ryou's smiling face came around the door. "May I come in?"

Anzu gave her response in the form of a surprised yelp and a dive under her duvet. She looked _awful_… She couldn't be seen like this! Unfortunately, even burying herself under the comforting blankets could not last forever. She heard her friend approaching, and the soft thud as he set something down on her dresser.

"Anzu?" He said, bewildered. "…Why are you hiding?"

"I don't want you to see me." She muttered, sulkily. "I look _awful_…"

He chuckled slightly. "I'd like to see you all the same. I feel odd, talking to a pile of bedding."

"You're supposed to reassure me that I'll look fine." Anzu informed him, daring out from under the covers as far as her eyes, and saw him standing by the side of her bed.

"I quite thought it went without saying." Ryou teased. "Either way, how can I tell if you won't come out?"

"Fine." Anzu sighed, surfacing. She stared up at him defiantly, her face pale apart from her flushed cheeks, her eyes seeming dulled and tired, bags hanging below them, her nose red and sore. Her hair hung limply as though it too had no energy, and seemed to droop with her. Ryou, who had never visited her when she was ill before, was quite astounded by the transformation. Immediately, he felt overwhelming sympathy. Anzu caught his glance, and groaned. "I'm going back under the covers!" She declared. "Wake me up when it's spring!"

"Anzu." Ryou said simply, stopping her in her tracks. "I only came to drop off your work. I can leave if you want."

"Oh, Ryou…" She sighed in mock exasperation. "No, no. Look, sit down, already; and let me watch my show in peace!"

Ryou pulled the chair out from the desk in the corner, and looked toward the screen where the British policeman was becoming tongue-tied in the interrogation room with the hot biker chick.

_"In the old country…" She whispered, seductively "There was a sure way to settle these… disputes."_

_"Oh…" The English man stammered, coughing slightly. "I…"_

_The woman grabbed hold of his tie and pulled him close, to the hysterical laughter of the artificially created studio audience._

_"My mother always said there was only one thing to do to an English man…"_

_"Ah… um… whatever you tell me is all on record, madam…"_

_"Oh." She smirked. "I hope they enjoy it when you get what's coming to you…" She pulled out a knife that she had somehow managed to conceal on her scantily clad person and held it to his neck._

_"A knife! I'm doomed!"_

And there was more laughter.

Ryou blinked. "Anzu… What _is _this?"

"Rumbled."

"…Any good?"

"Nope."

Ryou laughed again. "I won't ask." He commented decisively. "Either way, that tea your mom sent up with me…" He gestured at the cup he'd set down atop Anzu's school books. "Best to drink it hot."

Anzu, noticing the mug for the first time, picked it up gratefully; the hot liquid soothing her sore throat, and she nodded her thanks. Then something occurred to her.

"Oh, no… You met my mom…" She groaned.

Ryou nodded. "That's right. She's very nice."

"…How many times did she call you 'sweetheart'?" Anzu said, as though she dreaded to ask.

"None." Ryou paused, slightly amused. "As it happened, she called me 'duckie'."

"…How can you say that _without_ being embarrassed?" Anzu demanded, turning away in her own humiliation and back to the show. The cop was running about trying to avoid the amazingly sexy killer. Even more amazing was the fact the American guy hadn't turned up to bail him out yet.

"Anzu, it's fine. She was just told me I was a 'very kind young man', and asked where Yugi was. I told her he was ill too, and she worried that there was something going round and warned me not to catch it. For some reason, she wanted to check my temperature…"

Anzu looked closely at her friend for the first time since he had entered. Perhaps her mother had been fooled by his unusually pale skin? But no, he, to, had dark shadows under his eyes, and even as he sat on the chair, it seemed that was the only thing keeping him from falling to the ground and shattering. She looked at him in concern.

"You do look a bit… are you alright?"

"Mmm. I've just a bit restless recently."

"Well, I hope you're ill." Anzu joked, turning once again back to the screen. "Then I won't give you anything…"

_The American had finally re-entered the room, and took in the situation rather quickly. He walked over to them, and pushed the English man aside._

_"That's not how you charm a woman, Limey_. _Let me show you how it's done._" _He stated, and took the criminal woman into his arms, kissing her. At the same time, he worked the knife from her hands, and she gasped as he stood back and she found herself mystically cuffed._

"What does that mean, anyway…?" She mumbled.

"That I haven't been sleeping very well?" Ryou suggested, bewildered.

"Not that." Anzu dismissed, wearily. "That USA guy. He keeps calling the British guy a 'Limey'. What does that mean?"

"Ah, I see." Ryou laughed. "It just means he's English. You know, like the 'Aussies' or the 'Yanks'… There's a story to it, of course."

"Oh?" Anzu asked, turning off the overheating television as _Rumbled_'s credits scrolled across it. "And what's that?"

"Well…" Ryou began, getting more comfortable by bringing one of his legs up underneath him. "Back in the 16th and 17th century, the English navy was the best in the world, envied by the rest of Europe, beating every other naval force, leading the way in exploration… but there was a problem. The sailors kept dying of scurvy! They were so malnourished that their gums would bleed and their teeth fall out until-"

"Okay, scurvy wasn't nice! I get it!"

"Sorry. Anyway, the time came when someone figured out that there was a cure- or rather, a preventative- and that was to have the sailors eat lemons and limes. So, of course, the ships were full of limes…"

"And so the name?" Anzu completed. Ryou nodded. "…So what's it like there? In England?"

Ryou hesitated, considering. Then he smiled and said, matter-of-factly: "It's a damp, grey, little pit of a country."

Anzu laughed. "I see…"

"It's a place where it _always_ rains but _never_ snows." Ryou elaborated, trying to defend his opinion. "There are hills all over the place, but hardly any mountains; and certainly none of international merit. The sky isn't blue, it's grey. The soil's all mud and clay; and nothing interesting grows there naturally. Then there's the people… In England, everyone complains but nobody _does_ anything."

"You don't sound like you like it very much." Anzu commented.

"Of course I do!" Ryou shot back. "It's the best country in the world!"

Anzu blinked. "But… you just…"

"I told you." Ryou shrugged. "We're very good at complaining. There's not a problem in the country that can't be solved with a cup of tea and a letter of complaint." His voice dropped to a whisper. "But you see, in that lies the key to being British…"

"What?" Anzu gasped, intrigued. Ryou leant in conspiratorially.

"You complain about it constantly, but would never even _consider _swapping it for anything else. The truth is, we just like moaning." He grinned.

"…That's just stupid." Anzu commented, utterly bewildered.

"Indeed it is! As are many things in England. Like the fact that a letterbox is called a letterbox when it isn't even a box; it's just a slot in the door. In England, _no-one _knows the words to the National Anthem, but _everyone _knows the words to Queen's songs. More people watch the _Doctor Who _Christmas special then watch the Queen's Christmas address, and yet, if she didn't give one, there'd be outrage. Oh! And there's this _fantastic_ thing called a roundabout, that makes you drive in circles in _the middle of the road_, when traffic lights would clearly be a lot easier to navigate and more efficient. But _nobody cares_. Yes… it's a fairly silly place, really."

"Do you miss it?" Anzu asked, carefully.

Ryou considered. "In England, the streets have _names_- Nuthurst, Kingswood, Meadowfield, Lyshurst, Tessal, Grovely… And they aren't streets. They're groves, lanes, avenues, hills, roads. There aren't any 'streets'. In England, you can have a thunderstorm with such torrential rain that you can't see a hand before your face, with thunder that shakes the room; or you can have days and days where there isn't a movement in the air. In England, everyone decided they wanted a day off, so they called it a Bank Holiday and made it a public holiday; and it happens several times a year, for no good reason. The Queen has _three _birthdays, but no-one has an issue with it because it means even more national holidays. In England, you write the day before the month, and the time before any of it. And every fifth of November, they celebrate the death of a traitor who had tried to blow up Parliament _hundreds _of years before. It's madness; but it is most defiantly English. And I suppose… yes, I miss it."

"It sounds like fun." Anzu smiled, pulling her blanket up to her chin as she set the now empty cup back down on the side. "…I'd like to go one day."

"Well, I'm sure you will." Ryou answered, smiling to. "Although I don't think there's much to see…"

"There's cricket."

"No-one understands cricket."

"And Wimbledon."

"It always rains."

"Stonehenge?"

"Not all it's cracked up to be."

Anzu shook her head in exasperation. "You Limeys really _do _like complaining…"

Ryou laughed. "Of course. What did you expect? It's a country that eats about 95 percent of the world's baked beans and has a huge clock as it's proudest achievement since the invention of the sandwich and the flushing toilet."

"Big Ben." Anzu said, dreamily. "I want to see Big Ben."

"Ah. You know, Big Ben isn't the clock. It's the bell inside." Ryou informed her, trying to remember everything he'd ever known about the clock tower and the bell it housed. "The whole country sets their clocks by Big Ben; and at New Year, the whole of the British Isles tunes into their TVs or Radios to hear it ring in the New Year. And, when it's finished striking, there's the most almighty cheer…"

"Under Big Ben at midnight…" Anzu muttered. Ryou looked at her quizzically, so Anzu explained. "That's where my mom and dad met. They were both in England on holiday, and had been to see in a show in the West End… And they met under Big Ben at midnight." She peered over at him, his face inscrutable as always. "You think it's silly?"

"Not at all." Ryou answered. "…I'm just feeling a little homesick, now." He laughed sheepishly.

"Sorry…" Anzu answered, but she looked so disappointed, Ryou did not want to leave the issue be.

"…Was there something else?" He prompted.

"…Yes." She admitted. "…I want to know about King Arthur. The Knights and Dragons and all the castles. What were they really like?"

Ryou blinked, a little taken aback, as Anzu got herself comfortable. He licked his lips absently, working out what to say.

"Well… I think… that the real version is that Arthur was some sort of Roman solider…"

"No…" Anzu whispered. "That's no fun. Tell me the legend."

"Alright… I'll try…" Ryou promised, dubiously, quietly. His heart pounded a little, nervous at this new task, and perhaps at these new, unfamiliar feelings as Anzu, sick as a dog, curled up under her duvet.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Anzu." He muttered, quietly. Last time he had stopped his monologue of the Arthurian legends, she had urged him, blearily, to continue. This time, there was no response. "Get well soon." He whispered, fondly, quietly leaving the room. He made his way downstairs, pausing at the lounge to thank Ms Mazaki for having him.

"No, thank _you _for coming!" She insisted, waving his courtesy away. She looked a little puzzled, however. This friend of Anzu, who she had only known about through her daughter's words, had stayed a very long time. She smiled, and the poor boy looked so unnerved she had to explain herself. "Thank you for taking so much time with Anzu."

"Oh, it's not a problem." Ryou insisted, hastily. "It's a pleasure, honestly. When she wakes up, could you tell her I said goodbye and that I'll see her soon?"

"Of course. But on the subject of sleep…" Ms Mazaki frowned. "Get some yourself. I'd hate for you to get sick on Anzu's account…"

Ryou shrugged. "I have an immune system of steel." He smiled.

"All the same…"

"Please don't worry." He gave a little wave, stepping out the front door and into the chilled, late November, air. "Goodbye, now."

"Goodbye." Ms Mazaki shut the door after him. She moved back to the main room, smiling to herself. She liked that one. She moved back into where her husband was waiting.

"What a nice lad." She commented. "Anzu certainly picks wonderful friends."

"Perhaps they pick her." Her husband replied. "Though how she managed to find an Englishman over here, I'll never know…"

"England…" Ms Mazaki said, smirking. "Now, I remember when _I _went to England… I met a man at midnight under a clock tower…"

"And I met a woman, who I haven't been able to leave since." His hand slipped around hers.

Upstairs, Anzu sighed softly in her sleep, noticing the absence of the voice that had sung her into this forgotten world of knights and castles.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The first time Anzu saw Ryou in the New Year was before 9:00am on the 1st January when he burst into her room declaring, quite urgently, that he needed to use her computer.

Anzu sat up in bed, pulling her blankets up to her chin. She was not so worried about Ryou seeing her in her pyjamas now, as she'd suffered colds on and off for the last month and a half and the gang had been to several sleepovers in honour of the season. No, what worried her was the fact he had woken her up, so unlike him, when _both _of them had been at Yugi's until the early hours of the morning, along with all the others. How could he be so awake? At this time on the morning of New Year's Day?

"Ryou, what are you doing?" She asked, tiredly, although it was fairly obvious he was booting up the PC on the desk.

"Sorry for waking you." He answered, which had nothing to do with what she'd asked. At any rate, he seemed quite distracted as he logged onto the internet, and then onto a website she didn't recognise. "BBC. You have to love it. Saying that, I hope I got the time zone right…" He clicked on something that read 'Listen Now', in big blue letters, which slowly began to open.

"What are you talking about?" Anzu demanded, walking over to the desk and hovering over his shoulder. "The BBC?"

"British Broadcasting Corporation." Then he smiled as a man's voice began to fill the room. "Oh, here we go!"

"What are-"

"Ssh! You'll see…"

_"And now, the crowd goes silent in anticipation of Big Ben…" _Silence for a moment. And then, somewhere, somewhere in the capital of a damp, grey, little pit of a country with post boxes and roundabouts and 'u's where there clearly weren't any, a large bell began to chime it's familiar peal.

"It's Big Ben." Anzu said, disbelievingly. "Is that right now?"

The first tone.

"Yes." Ryou nodded happily. "Good old BBC website…"

Another.

"…You…" Anzu shook her head in exasperation. Ryou smiled softly.

Again.

"Well, I may not be able to take you to Big Ben, but even I can let you hear it."

There.

"I can't believe you remembered… Even _I _don't really remember that conversation…"

A deep boom.

"Of course you don't. You were half-dead. You had me quite worried…"

Six. Half way.

"You shouldn't do all this."

Seven.

"I like to."

Eight.

"You're sweet, Ryou."

Nine.

"I…" He considered, and started a sentence anew. "Well, perhaps this will be enough till you can see the real thing. Meet your man at midnight."

Ten.

"I don't care _where _I meet my man. It's the bell I've always wanted to hear…"

Eleven. One more. A nation held it's breath.

"Then I'm glad I could be of assistance."

Twelve. The sound of cheering came through the speaker. A moment later, Ryou turned it off.

"Happy New Year." He smiled. Suddenly, Anzu was holding him close. Very close.

"You _are _my man at midnight." She whispered, fondly. Ryou blushed, stammering, but in the end, he managed to get some words out.

"I'm glad. Very glad."

"Me to." Anzu informed him; and, seeing as he was far too polite to, she moved her lips to his. When the time came to break apart, she knelt down on the floor beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. It felt peaceful. It felt right.

It felt awkward when a silence fell.

"Say something." She commanded, giggling.

Ryou paused for some time more. Then, finally, he blurted out: "In England, we drive on the left."

Anzu laughed harder, falling away from him. "How _romantic_…"

"Then I'll try again." Ryou answered, quietly, shyly. "In England, I never met a girl as wonderful as you."

"…Then you're glad you came?" Anzu asked, moving close to him again.

"Incredibly."

It turned out to be a very good year, as did those following it. The two grew ever closer, her sharing all the little girly worries from spots to her need to diet; him eventually sharing his deepest secrets, the memories he'd locked away; their fears and dreams. He assured her he loved her as she was, and she held him until he stopped shaking. They were close, and grew closer, until you could not see one for the other. Then, one summer some years after that November they'd first discussed it, Ryou and Anzu stood together under a large clock, named for a bell, in the centre of London. Anzu had made it. She turned to her partner, and, as it reached midnight, he asked that question, _the _question. She told him yes.

The man at midnight was in her life and heart to stay.

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A/N: Yay for fluffy cheesiness! I've been a little stressed recently, so I really needed to write something like this… Please forgive me. XD Hope you enjoyed reading! I think I've tried most of the major non-yaoi pairings now… I have no loyalty. _(Sweatdrop)_ I think Seto/Anzu's still my favourite, though I'd like to write more of this pairing to... Ryou/Ren as well... I'll stop blathering now and let you all go on your way… :) By the way, I have no _idea _why it's set at New Year. I just wrote the thing. :P And in case you wondered, everything Ryou said (To my knowledge) is true. Bye bye!


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